Had to jump off the conference call with U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati this morning before my turn came up to ask a question.  My question would have been this: is having the World Cup in the gigantic U.S. really good for soccer fans?  How can it possibly be made functional, with bid cities scattered from the West Coast to Indiana (because nothing says World Cup like Indianapolis?) to Nashville (really?) to the East Coast?

While it’s nice that all four time zones are represented and that the fancy NFL stadiums will be used, in truth, it will probably stink for fans.

This has nothing to do with a relative indifference – despite the crowds in bars this summer – to the World Cup (key word is relative). It has everything to do with our missing ingredient: a great national transportation system.

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Tony LaRussa showed up today at the rally in Washington DC organized by FOX News raver Glenn Beck, one that featured Sarah Palin. He was there to introduce slugger Albert Pujols who was being honored for his charity work.  LaRussa said before attending “I don’t want to be there if it’s political.”

Uh, Mr. Mastermind, the event was organized by the conservative right’s foaming cheerleader and featured the political movement’s gun-toting darling.  No, it wasn’t going to be political at all.  Just like LaRussa’s statement earlier this summer supporting Arizona’s anti-immigration laws weren’t political. Nope.

LaRussa’s claim that “it has nothing to do with politics,” is as believable as his claim that he didn’t know Mark McGwire ever did steroids until Big Mac called him up last January to tell him he was about to confess to the world. Which was shocking, absolutely shocking.

Paging Mr. LaRussa. Reality is calling on the dugout phone. Care to pick up?

The story of Steven Slater, renegade JetBlue flight attendant, is getting a lot of publicity. Rightly so.

Right on Slater.

Didn’t Slater only do what many of us have dreamed of doing? Curse out people who make his work life a living hell and then activate the exit slide and slip away – but not before grabbing a cold beer on his way out.

Not all of us have an actual emergency exit slide in our various lines of work. And with the ever-grim news of the economy, most people are afraid of activating whatever exit strategies are available to them. But Slater had had enough of the morons and bastards he was subjected to and he took the plunge. Beer in hand.

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Been down at Pebble Beach working for the Monterey Herald all weekend.  Here’s a link to my column on Dustin Johnson the leader heading into today’s final round.

Here is a link to the story I wrote on Tom Watson.

And the first-roud column on Tiger Woods.

Should be an interesting final round today.